House of Lies began as a sledgehammer of a show, frantically and frenetically detailing the double-talk of American corporate greed. But it has become something else.

As the series returns for its second season Monday on The Movie Network and Movie Central, there seems to be a lot more emphasis on the complex relationship between main characters Marty (played by Don Cheadle) and Jeannie (played by Kristen Bell).

"I always thought it was about us two, from the very beginning," said Cheadle, prompting laughter at the Television Critics Association tour.

To which Bell added, "We're very self-centred."

But Bell then endeavored to provide a more serious answer to the question.

"I don't think that's inaccurate," she said. "It (the Marty-Jeannie relationship) definitely fuels a much bigger portion, in my opinion, of the show this year. Or at least as far as what we get to explore.

"We left on such a cliffhanger on where it was going. And it's not that it's no longer about corporate America. It's just the procedural aspect of each episode has been altered a bit, so there's not necessarily a start-to-finish in each episode.

"It's more about the lives of these people, because we've kind of settled into the characters. We're getting to know their development and their dynamic, as opposed to, like, a 'get the deal, close the deal, end of episode' kind of thing."

Originating on the cable network Showtime in the U.S., House of Lies primarily is a comedy, focusing on a group of management consultants whose savvy and expertise is matched only by their ability to B.S. their way out of sticky situations.

For example, in the first episode of the second season, there's a funny scenario in which the team -- which, besides Marty and Jeannie, also includes Clyde (Ben Schwartz) and Doug (Josh Lawson) -- has to deal with a case of unknown client identity. I won't give away any details, but it certainly is fun to watch the creative way in which the team solves the problem.

Cheadle and Bell are the most compelling actors here, though. It has become their show. And that's no House of Lies.

TWO MORE DEBUTS:

Also debuting on Monday on The Movie Network and Movie Central, and also originating on Showtime in the U.S., we have the third season of Shameless (with William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum) and the sixth season of Californication (with David Duchovny). Toss House of Lies into the middle, and you've got back-to-back-to-back studies in very different forms of extreme behaviour. Enjoy!

‘House of Lies’ puts emphasis on Don Cheadle, Kristen Bell characters

House of Lies began as a sledgehammer of a show, frantically and frenetically detailing the double-talk of American corporate greed. But it has become something else.

As the series returns for its second season Monday on The Movie Network and Movie Central, there seems to be a lot more emphasis on the complex relationship between main characters Marty (played by Don Cheadle) and Jeannie (played by Kristen Bell).

"I always thought it was about us two, from the very beginning," said Cheadle, prompting laughter at the Television Critics Association tour.

To which Bell added, "We're very self-centred."

But Bell then endeavored to provide a more serious answer to the question.

"I don't think that's inaccurate," she said. "It (the Marty-Jeannie relationship) definitely fuels a much bigger portion, in my opinion, of the show this year. Or at least as far as what we get to explore.